Camping

Tuesday, May 1, 2012

The Pool

The weather has drastically warmed over the past few days. Hubby finally ordered a new pool ladder over the weekend. The kids are ready to jump into the cool water. So it is time to get the pool in shape for the swim season.

pool construction spring 2009

I love having a pool, but I dread the time it takes to get it into shape in the spring. I thought this year would be a breeze. We have used a salt water pool chlorinator for the past two years. Our winter was very mild and I ran the chlorinator all winter to keep the pull clear. We bought a leaf cover last fall and it has kept the piles of leave out. So, I thought this spring would be the easiest pool opening. Boy did I get thrown for a loop!

The first time in the new pool (2009)

The chlorinator started reading low salt about a month ago. I added more salt and it would work for a week and then it would complain again. So I added more salt. Then it said low salt again and wouldn’t work. I decided to call the manufacturer and told them the problem. My warranty was good for seven more days! They told me they would seen new plates and that would fix the problem. Now I had to wait for the part. The pool was slowly turning green while I waited.

The part finally arrives and I replaced it. When I started the thing up everything worked for a few minutes. Then a low flow sensor sounded and the chlorinator shut down. The probe went out! I am out of warranty for the thing! So this last weekend, we bought a new chlorinator. At least, I have replacement plates for the new one.

building raised veggie beds summer 2009

veggie beds spring 2012

I installed the new chlorinator and things were running great. The pool is a light green color, but it should be clearing soon. Then the high salt sensor sounded! Now I have to drain twenty percent of the pool water and replace it with fresh water!

Needless to say, my visions of a hassle free pool opening have come and gone. Maybe, next year will be the year.